As recording and AI-based technologies become increasingly accessible to young musicians, questions arise about how adolescents navigate the tension between self-expression and digital mediation. This study investigates how middle- and high-school singers use vocal recording, processing, and AI tools to negotiate authenticity, identity, and artistic intent. Five adolescents participated in a series of group and individual sessions involving singing, recording, and discussion of voice-modifying software. Data include conversational transcripts, reflective notes, and participant-produced recordings.Preliminary analysis suggests that adolescents engage technology not as a replacement for their voices but as a means of refining and understanding them. Participants valued selective, intentioned edits (light tuning or EQ that enhanced expression) while rejecting “perfection by default” and voicing concerns about consent, ownership, and human nuance. Rather than disguising identity, they treated tools as extensions of musicianship, aligning technological choices with genre, message, and mood. These findings highlight how mediated sound becomes a site for ethical and aesthetic negotiation, where learning hinges on context, trust, and collaborative listening.By examining these dynamics within adolescent vocal practice, this study illuminates emerging intersections of voice pedagogy, technology, and identity formation. It offers implications for educators seeking to integrate digital tools in ways that sustain both artistic integrity and self-discovery.